Tillamook County Housing Task Force

Creating a Healthy Housing Market for Tillamook County

Housing in Tillamook County used to be affordable and readily available, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. We wanted to understand why. The Tillamook County Housing Task Force was established in October of 2015 to investigate the dynamics of the market and make recommendations for improvement and has completed its first major project, a county-wide housing market assessment.

The task force brings together stakeholders from all geographic areas, and economic sectors to participate in a process to create a long-term housing plan for Tillamook County and to look for short-term creative solutions to address the extreme housing crisis in Tillamook County. The task force efforts have been coordinated and facilitated by Erin Skaar, Executive Director of CARE, Melissa Carlson-Swanson, Branch Manager Oregon Food Bank Tillamook Services Center, and Commissioner Bill Baertlein.

The assessment includes demographic data, for example, the percentage of households paying more than 30% of income to rent or housing, and also surveys of employers, information from contractors and developers to assess the barriers and identify buildable lands. “The purpose of the housing assessment is to analyze the need and its causes,” explained Erin Skaar. “And to provide some recommendations for moving forward.”

Tillamook County rental housing often costs more than 30% of household income. We discovered the underlying causes and describe them in this report.

Tillamook County faces unique challenges when it comes to housing development. According to Bryan Pohl, Tillamook County Community Development Director, “There is not a lot of available, buildable lands, and we have zoning restrictions within varied jurisdictions. This is a much more difficult place to build." He continued, “It’s always going to be difficult and expensive to live here, and the work we do now will be positioning for the next generation.” Doing this work brings up the conversation, “Where are we headed?” said Skaar. “And, why is this so critical to plan and develop infrastructure, including capacity and the skilled labor for building. This is a model for Tillamook County’s future.”

The Futures Council reports and a community vitality project assessment showed the absence of any projects or plans for housing. “Ask anyone in the county what the most critical issues facing the county are, and housing will be in the top three,” added Skaar. Unscientific opinion polls last year showed that 80% of those answering the poll agreed – housing, especially affordable housing, is a serious problem in Tillamook County. “What makes this such an important issue for Tillamook County is that it is not just low income housing that is not available, it is all types of housing,” Skaar said. Employers are anxious to be a part of this effort as they are struggling to hire employees at all levels due to the housing shortage. “All our major employers, the cheese factory, the hospital, the school districts have lost potential employees that tried to move here, but could not find affordable housing or even temporary rentals,” Skaar said.

This report “Creating a Healthy Housing Market for Tillamook County” is a significant first step toward finding solutions to housing issues.